Today a wide range of cosmetic products are available in the consumer market. However, it is not easy to find a product that perfectly fits with one's taste and interest. First, the tone (e.g., color, lightness, etc.) and texture (e.g., dry, smooth, etc.) of each person's skin vary significantly. The appearance of skin also varies seasonally. Second, each individual has their own taste. Because makeup products, foundation or eye shadow for example, are applied directly to the human body, users, most of whom are women, tend to notice subtle differences in color and texture, which makes it hard to find a completely suitable color. Based on the foregoing, cosmetics come in a vast number of different colors and styles.
Further, even if one finds a perfect one, the price may be an issue. Unlike clothing on which you can try before purchase, you have to buy an entire unit to evaluate the matching of the makeup product, unless a small portion, or a sample, is available for free trial. However, cosmetic samples or free-application service over the counter are usually available only for expensive products that are sold in prestige outlets. As a result, it is not uncommon for users to throw away the cosmetic product after single use. In addition, inexpensive cosmetic products sold in mass outlets do not provide exclusive looks and/or provide a wide variety of colors. Additionally, after having discovered a desired cosmetic, having to travel to and from a store to purchase the item, then search for the item in store/online and proceed with the trial or returns process is cumbersome. Also, most stores carry a limited amount of colors/shades due to shelf space which increases increases the barriers to consumption and remote store locations, busy schedules and shipping times (for online orders) can increase the amount of time a consumer has to wait until they can consume the desired cosmetic product.
In order to meet various needs of makeup users, there exist some products and systems that provide custom color selection. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,429 issued to Bartholomew et al. discloses a cosmetic body powder selection system using a point of sale dispenser. Also known as “a makeup kiosk,” this type of system allows a user to custom select color or dispense a color, effect or both, which is directly applied to the user. However, the system, which requires a bulky dispensing assembly unit (FIG. 3) and a viewing station (FIG. 1), is apparently for industrial use, not for personal use. An end user must travel to a sales site to purchase their service.
Similarly, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0164263 published to Samain et al. discloses a method of automatically forming and applying a cosmetic deposit onto the skin or lips. The deposit has an optical characteristic, for example color or gloss, and it corresponds substantially to the measured optical characteristic of a body part (e.g., face). This system provides custom forming of cosmetic colors. However it also requires unique, sophisticated devices such as a custom-made printing apparatus called “handpiece.” An end user must either own this apparatus, or travel to the site providing the application service. In either way, it does not appear to provide the makeup users with an economical solution.
On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,730 issued to Matsos et al. discloses a cost-effective cosmetic solution, namely, a disposable, single application package that is used as a cosmetic sampler. Although commercial entities such as cosmetic companies and beauty shops who handle a large volume of samplers may benefit from this technology, end users may not. Further, the product sample containing a make-up slurry is pre-selected before printing on a plastic film and there is no freedom for an end user to custom select the color.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need to provide a consumer with a convenient, easily customizable, low cost cosmetic product the color of which can be selected by the consumer, thus providing a truly customized, personalize product. It will be appreciated that the teachings described herein are not limited to a personal consumer setting but instead can be implemented in a commercial, retail, manufacturing, etc. setting.